Hi, I am an incoming freshman and currently got accepted to the chemical engineering program at UC Davis and the chemistry major at UC Irvine, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara. After looking into each major more, considering how the two majors differ from each other, and considering the job options each major provides, I have come to the conclusion that I would like to pursue chemical engineering. I know that the chemical engineering programs of SD and SB are significantly ranked higher than Davis’ (I think it was like #15-10 vs. #30) and therefore harder to get into. I have also however heard that such rankings don’t really matter on an undergraduate, bachelor’s degree level. I heard that in order to transfer I would have to take extra classes since the chemical engineering major classes require different coursework, and this may be easy to do since I have a generous amount of AP credits.
So I would like advise on whether I should accept the Davis offer with straight admission to the chemical engineering program, or accept the SD or SB offer despite the fact that I would have to transfer into the chemical engineering department. Additionally, if you have any experience on transferring into impacted/capped majors like chemical engineering, did it result in taking more than four years to graduate? Also, is it true that undergraduate chemical engineering programs are generally the same despite ranking since they are tailored towards ABET accreditation?
Sorry for the long post, but thanks for answering! Also, pardon any misconceptions, I have not yet visited any of these campuses nor have talked to any advisors/representatives from these campuses so all the information I have is from online forums like this!